TSMC Intellectual Property Case Exposes Brain Drain Risks

A lawsuit involving TSMC and one of its former execs shows how important it is for Taiwan to safeguard its semiconductor talent.

Transcript

00:00TSMC is taking one of its former executives to court.

00:04Luo Weiren worked for the Taiwanese chip giant for over two decades,

00:08retiring as a senior vice president in July.

00:12Shortly after, he joined American chipmaker Intel.

00:15In a statement, TSMC alleges there is a quote,

00:18high probability that Luo shared trade secrets with his new employer,

00:22violating confidentiality agreements and Taiwan's Trade Secrets Act.

00:26TSMC's lawsuit comes after prosecutors in Taiwan launched a probe against Luo

00:32for allegedly stealing restricted information on advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

00:37According to TSMC, Luo arranged meetings with the R&D department

00:41for briefings on the company's advanced technologies,

00:45even though that was outside of his purview.

00:47While TSMC has decided to litigate,

00:50industry leaders seem to think the law can only do so much in this case

00:53because it involves cross-border business practices.

00:56Even so, Luo is already having to deal with consequences.

01:17Earlier this year, Taiwan's top research institute,

01:20E-Tree, awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award.

01:23Now, E-Tree is launching its own investigation into Luo,

01:27deciding whether to revoke that award.

01:29But industry analysts say Taiwan will need to be proactive

01:32in making sure it can retain its talent.

01:35Luo's case highlights just how competitive the semiconductor industry is getting

01:39and the lengths other countries may go to to obtain top-notch talent.

01:43This is not the first time TSMC has filed a lawsuit against a former employee.

02:08In the early 2010s, a former R&D officer went over to Korean rival Samsung,

02:14and that case ended with a court ruling in TSMC's favor.

02:18But there's no guarantee that Luo's case will play out the same.

02:21Joseph Wu and Leslie Liao for Taiwan Plus.